Feels Like Fire
This is the second episode of Die Another Day: Forgotten Memories. Story Melanie walks down to the living room of her house. Michael is sitting down, casually reading a book. “Morning, Melanie,” Michael states, “Did you sleep well last night?” “This is one of the best nights I had in awhile,” Melanie answers. “That’s great,” Michael replies. “Do you miss our old friends back in North Carolina?” Melanie asks. “Sometimes I do. I wonder what they’re doing back there and what’s going on with Systrike and everything,” Michael answers. Melanie sat down next to Michael. “I do too,” Melanie replies, “I miss everyone, especially my brother Casey. I hope he’s alright.” “I bet he is. Casey is a strong boy. He can make it through anything,” Michael replies. “Thanks Michael, for everything,” Melanie states in a rather heartwarming way. Melanie then cuddles Michael. Michael then embraces her back. “Want something to eat?” Michael asks. “That would be great,” Melanie answers. The two of them then walked over to the kitchen, where Michael found several boxes of cereal. “Good thing these are in good condition. There’s some milk here too, provided by the cows they keep on the farm,” Michael states. “That’s great,” Melanie replies. Melanie then makes herself cereal while Michael walks out into the back porch. Nicole walks up to Michael. “Should we stay here?” Nicole asks. “Yes. We can start a new life here. I basically adopted Melanie at this point,” Michael answers. “It’s good that you adopted Melanie,” Nicole replies, “We need more people like you in this world.” “I know, Nicole,” Michael replies. Nicole then walks back to her house. Michael then walks back inside. “Is everything alright?” Melanie asks. “Yes, thank you for asking, Melanie,” Michael answers, “Why don’t you play with Ethan?” “I don’t know how,” Melanie answers. “What do you mean you don’t know how to be a kid?” Michael asks. “When you’ve seen so many horrible things at my age, it’s hard to just pretend to be a regular kid. You see what this world did to me. This eyepatch is proof of it,” Melanie answers. Melanie then takes off her eyepatch, revealing a mass of flesh and blood that used to be an eye. It looked so disgusting that anyone who looked at it would have the first instinct to vomit. “Put that eyepatch on! NOW! What if Ethan saw you like this!” Michael shouts like an angry parent. “Let him. He’s going to have to give up his happy-go-lucky little boy attitude eventually. Or else, he’ll die,” Melanie responds, clearly stating her case. “Don’t say things like that!” Michael shouts like a parent angry at their child. Melanie walks over to Michael. “You’re trying to shield me and yourself from the truth! Look around! We’ve seen many horrible things during our travels. What if Ethan encountered a group like Phantom or Systrike, or how about one that’s even worse! He won’t survive!” Melanie shouts back, clearly not backing down. “You go put that eyepatch back on and play with Ethan this instant!” Michael shouted. “If you want me to be a normal kid, then so be it,” Melanie responds. She then puts on her eyepatch and she walks out of the house. “He wants me to be a normal kid. I’ll show him normal,” Melanie mutters to herself. Melanie walks up to Ethan’s house. She knocks on Ethan’s door. Ethan opens the door to greet Melanie. “Melanie!” Ethan shouts, “I’m so glad that you want to play with me!” “Yeah, sure,” Melanie replies. “Okay. Let’s go upstairs!” Ethan shouts. Ethan grabs Melanie’s hand and he drags her upstairs to his room, where he has various toys all over the floor. “Let’s start playing!” Ethan shouts. “Okay,” Melanie replies. As Melanie and Ethan play, Michael goes to the fields to check on the crops. “Hey, Michael!” Jake shouts. “Jake, how’s the crops doing?” Michael asks. “They’re doing great!” Jake shouts. “That’s what I want to hear, Jake!” Michael shouts. The Next Day The people of the Topeka community surround the crops in a state of shock and panic. Melanie, Michael, and Nicole walk up to the crowd. “What’s going on here?” Michael asks. “The crops. They’re all dead,” Sam answers. “Probably some disease,” Nicole states. “No, Nicole,” Sam replies, “Reed has an explanation.” “We found several empty syringes lying around the fields. This confirms that this was a deliberate sabotage!” Reed shouts. Everyone gasps in fear and confusion. “Who would sabotage the crops?” Anna asks. “The Gilded Ones. They’re a rival agricultural community based out in Wichita. But, I don’t know why they would do this,” Sam answers. “I’m taking a group of survivors over to their community to get answers. Anyone want to come with me?” Damian asks. Jake, Michael, Nicole, Kate, Carter, and Rick accepted the offer to come. Melanie walks up. “I wanna join!” Melanie shouts. “No Melanie, you need to stay here,” Michael replies. Melanie starts to pout. “I’ve seen things much worse! This is child’s play!” Melanie shouts. “This is no mission for a child. Stay here and play with Ethan,” Michael replies. As the group prepares to get in the car to drive out to the Gilded Ones’ base, Melanie once again climbs in the trunk and sneaks on board. The car then drives away. Cast *Michael North *Nicole Hanson *Sam Hanson *Jake *Melanie *Reed *Abby *Ethan *Anna Hanson *Carter *Damian *Rick *Meredith *Lex *Kate Deaths None Trivia